Be sure to watch in 1080p!
Warning, Choprock is an R rated canyon and people have died in the canyon due to not being prepared with the right equipment. A good full wetsuit is a must in this canyon even though the water was surprisingly warmer that I thought it would be. You will be in the the water or many hours and will have to deal with multiple log jams and very tight spaces. You will need a good water filter since you will need to filter water in the canyon. Bring enough energy food to keep you going for 16+ hours, and I suggest a group size of between 2-4 people who are all experienced and competent canyoneers. The “Freak Out” potential can be high and is not recommended for the claustrophobic. The log jams in this video my be different depending on the time of year and the flash floods and the continuous erosion of the canyon.
We headed down to Escalante to do Neon and Choprock canyons. The hike down to the mouth of Neon was was around 3.5 miles and took about 2 hours in the 85F heat. We set up camp and headed up canyon to do Neon. Most of the group headed back out to the truck the next morning while 3 of us stayed and did Choprock Canyon and then hiked out the next day. We camped at the mouth of Neon and started hiking at 8:40am (we should have started much earlier and moved camp to Fence Canyon or possibly closer to the mouth of Choprock). We missed the weakness in the wall to head up to the top of the canyon, so we went up the mouth of Choprock which added more time and mileage. The approach took us 6 hours of hiking in the 90ºF heat, and we did a lot of shade hoping. We finally made it into the canyon and filtered the first pothole we came to. It wasn’t long before we put the wetsuits on and enjoyed being in the water!
There are 3 defined sections in the canyon. The first one is the “Riparian Section” which is like hiking in the jungle! There is tons of green vegetation, bushwacking, and poison ivy. Then is the “Happy Section” which is some easy Subway’ish type hiking and scenery, then is the “Grim Section” where the technical and energy draining part is. The canyon gets very tight at points and has a few log jams and one of them was particularly difficult to get though. I ended up tearing the log jam apart and very carefully stand and balance on the logs floating in the water so I could climb up the vertical log jam. David was able to stem up the walls, and Brett was able to squeeze under the log jam to get though. The sun went down and we did the last 2 hours of the Grim Section in the dark. I didn’t bring my waterproof headlamp (for weight saving purposes) and I didn’t want to risk my Petzl Zipka getting wet because we were still splashing and dunking under the water. I eventually got out my iphone in a Lifeproof case (waterproof case) and used the flashlight on that. We were getting pretty tired and were wondering when the canyon was going to end. I was having some GoPro issues in the Grim Section so I probably only got half of that section on camera. I eventually switched out the 32gb micro SD card at the top of the last rappel. David got the rope stuck and had to ascend up the rope to retrieve it. We always carry Petzl Tiblocks on our harnesses at all times. It took us 7 hours to get from the top of the Slot canyon to the bottom of the last rappel. It took us about 3 hours to hike from the last rappel back to our camp at the mouth of Neon Canyon where we were happy to eat some food and go to bed! That was a 16 hour day. Brett and I were having some acid reflux on the 3 hour hike back to camp. I think it might have been from the exertion of our bodies and not eating real food all day. Brett ended up throwing up a few times at camp. We aren’t sure if it was from the water we filtered or if his body just wasn’t happy from the canyon or lack of real food and high exertion. I drank the same filtered water as him and was fine. We slept in the next morning since we didn’t go to sleep till 2am. The hike back to the truck the next day was brutal and hot. Overall Choprock is an amazingly fun canyon that I would love to do again someday, but the hike into Escalante as well as the long/hot approach and the long exit of the canyon and exit back tot he truck will keep me away for a few years till I forget how much I didn’t like it.
Next time I would suggest camping at the Fence Canyon confluence, Starting a few hours earlier in the morning, Take the correct approach trail, bring a waterproof headlamp, and bring antacid tablets
I shot this video with my GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition camera at 1080p at 30fps and edited with iMovie. I had my GoPro mounted to my GoScope Extreme which is a telescoping pole and it works great with the J-Hook mount! Get your GoScope at http://go-scope.com.
ratagonia
I get the acid reflux from a lack of appropriate eating, and from eating mostly carbs (which I don’t do anymore). On high-exertion days. Especially if it involves a lot of being cold. YMMV.
T
Deagol
interesting…
The whole day seems pretty hard. Lots of difficulties.
Deagol
what caused the acid reflux? I have issues with that same thing at times, but I was wondering if it may have been caused by nerves?
Or was it really food?
Jman
Great question. Typically it comes from high exertion (and long days). Recently I did a 19mile hike and the acid reflux didn’t flare up once. It typically happens when the chest is being squeezed (from a wetsuit and carrying a backpack).
ucla56
Great video!
This looks like pretty difficult Choprock, is that right?
Which is thought of as a more advanced canyon, Choprock or Imlay?
ratagonia
I think they are about equal, but have quite different problems. Both can be fairly easy in some conditions, and quite hard in other conditions. This group started out 4 hours behind – 2 hours because they started very late; and 2 hours because they blew the navigation. None of them had done the canyon before (which tends to slow things down), and they had big packs which were unnecessary. And found hard conditions. And ate poorly. etc. All these things would also be a big problem in Imlay.
I’m happy to see Jeff finally publish a vid of a canyon that did not go so well. And happy they all made it out, worse for wear, but intact.
Tom
Jman
Definitely a late start, and numerous breaks in the shade on the approach. Big packs? Just carrying a wetsuit, water, my lunch, ropes and essential canyoneering gear. Why do you think it was big, Tom? We don’t carry anything that isn’t essential.
Now when it comes to camping – that’s a different story!
We actually ate well (we packed lunches, granola bars, sugar snacks), but the acid reflux hit at the last rappel and made drinking water difficult. Not life threatening, just more of a nuisance. We were all in great spirits. And a little tired after hiking 12 miles, and choprock for the 1st time.
There was a LOT of water. Past trip reports I read talked about swimming underneath logjams and obstacles. Definitely not in this case.
The canyon wasn’t that difficult to be honest In the conditions that we found, except for the log jams. I’m sure in drier conditions it would be more tough. The long approach drained everyone’s energy which was the main culprit in our slowness. We swam and swam and swam and swam through the grim.
Don’t get the impression that we barely survived or squeaked by. We handled the obstacles well, everyone was in great spirits the entire trip, but Jeff wrote the video in a objective way so people don’t think it “looks easy” when it’s really not. The acid reflux was the annoying part as we were hiking back to our camp at Neon. But that was probably due to not having dinner (and we didn’t pack a dinner) since it was 12:45am when we rolled back into camp and wearing a wetsuit for a long part of the day.
We hit the last rappel at about 9pm. We were hoping to get back a bit sooner but that didn’t happen, due to a late start. And the wrong approach definitely added to a longer approach as well.
But man, those log jams really expend your energy! And that’s the dangerous part. At 5:04 (edit: I posted the wrong time earlier) into the video, you can see me sandwiched between the canyon walls while it gives you a glimpse of the tightness with the logjams,. Hence the “freak out” factor which was added into the video.
ratagonia
With the narrow work and climbing, a bigger than essential pack becomes an obstacle to efficient movement. I recognize your packs as being Kolobs – a big pack for that canyon. Good to hear that they were empty, and I have to admit, not everyone has every model of Imlay pack at hand like I do.
Tom
Jman
I’m sure that is nice owning your company and having what have you, at your disposal
Correct, my pack and Jeffs are Kolob and Daves is the Heaps pack.
Definitely wise advise though! If you overstuff them it would make those obstacles very frustrating trying to pass them through.
ratagonia
Did it once with a Heaps pack, with a bivy at the Riparian Ballroom. Was a great descent… but conditions were exceptionally easy.
T
Mountaineer
Yes, or any canyon for that matter. Three years ago I was unprepared in a 2A/3A canyon, NE TCB Roost. Started to rain, then hit lots of wading, and quickly got hypothermic. Clothes got soaked and heavy. Ended up hiking out buff to survive.
Lesson learned, always be prepared.
Indeed, Jeff is human!
Kuenn
Very good TR, video, and retrospective tips. And thanks for giving it the respect it obviously deserves.
I too have learned that acid reflux and exertion are evil bedfellows…yep, been a few trips calling the dinosaurs. Hence the first-aid kit now always has Nexium and x-acid tablets.
X2 on eating properly for energy, keeping cramps at bay, blood sugar, potassium, magnesium, et al. Physically draining activities – the body is pretty good at letting you know when you’re ignoring it. And I’m still re-learning that punishment.
Mountaineer
Nice, the iPhone saves the day! Glad you didn’t drop it.
Loved the report, thanks for posting.
spinesnaper
Awesome video. Great trip report. With the darkness, I take it you didn’t find my two tiblocs and biners that came off my harness when I tore my gear loop on the last rap. Loved the night trip video!
bhalvers2002
Great report! Must have been truly a grim feeling in the dark….
Just curious, last rap with rope stuck – ascension sounds like a double line with 2 tiblocs?
Jeff Guest
It was dark when we got to the last rappel and we we couldn’t tell if the rope was touching the water, so David put a stopper knot in the end just incase the rope tails weren’t even. He forgot to take out the knot when he pulled the rope so the knot wouldn’t go through the Quick Link at the top. He just used Tiblocs to ascend up one line with 2 tiblocs like normal. That is kind of iffy if you accedently get a random knot in your rope when pulling because you don’t know if that knot will hold you while you’re ascending, but he knew the knot would hold since he tied it so it wasn’t a big deal except for the extra energy and time used to retrieve the rope.
Blake Merrell
Wow! What a crazy trip! Thanks for the report. This canyon is high on my list but your report breathes a bit of concern into how I should plan for it….
Jman
Nice Jeff. You summarized our trip very well.
Yeah, that acid reflux flared up baddddd! That made drinking water difficult because water would just spread it around worse.
That’s a good reminder to carry some antacids if you are the medic in the group. And it was surprising too because Jeff rarely gets acid-reflux.
An amazing canyon and the grim section although difficult in some areas was quite fun.
The acid reflux was mostly to blame for me throwing up. When we finally arrived back at camp to have some food, I threw up immediately once I had some water that was stashed.
Then as the food was simmering down, the first bite I had and a few chews later, Jeff asked me “how are you feeling?” And almost immediately I threw up that pasta that I had. Then I chocked out “not good”.
I laid down in bed exhausted and woke up surprisingly well the next morning.
Anyways, great video edit.